Alex Ross Talks about Painting with Gouache

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Watch this week as Alex discuss his painting method, inspirations, and how gouache has contributed to his signature style.
www.alexrossart.com

[@artfan101]

Alex Ross really helped elevate comics to a recognized art form.

[@bryancoombesart]

The best thing about gouache is the opacity and edge control- soft edges and gradations are super easy. The worst thing about gouache is spelling it.

[@goilo888]

Bryan Coombes ART, and another good thing about gwash, gwache, er gouache is the fact that you can leave the dried paint on your palette for months (years?) and it is still good to use as long as you are painting thinly.

[@joeblankenship377]

I think "goo ache" but then I remember there's a u and go "gou ache" then squeeze it together.

[@NicolasCharly]

@@joeblankenship377 The french "ou" is almost like the english "oo", so it's indeed "goo ash".

[@Adammoodyfineart]

Bryan Coombes ART 😂

[@ShotDownInFlames2]

Another problem in using gouache is that every time you mention it you have to have a brief explanation for what it is. Like Alex did in the video.

[@jordicatvaley2424]

We need a book or DVD with tutorials about how you work, please

[@Happylink75]

Fr

[@eclipsesolar8345]

Agree. I actualy know hot to paint like him, no bs and just like him, but to get there i had to leave a lot of suppositions and rules about gouache that i wan't expecting to. It is hard, gouache is not an easy medium , only for people that don't know how to work with it or people that never did. i still would like to see a video of him painting something from star to finish , not just 1 second bits of him aplying a red on to something or a higlight to an already full finished piece just for the sake of the video upload. Form strart to finish: is first pencil sketch, with considerations about what to actually render and what to leave open to the next process, the "grisaille" B&W layer and how exaustive or thin he aplies it, and then the colour and how is that done: glazings , opaque payers, etc- I know that in Mytology and Marvelocity we get a sequence of his work process, but let me tell to the people that thinks that that is enough for a person that really whant to learn and know is process well: it isn't, at all. Evn so, i am a super fan of his work.

[@boejiden4190]

Or even just a KZbin series, but yes. I totally agree👍

[@montecasart]

It has subtitles in other languages ​​as well, mainly in Brazilian Portuguese. lol

[@Raz77110]

@@eclipsesolar8345 do you have anywhere where I can see your work?

[@NeedsMoreSubs]

I never look at an Alex Ross cover and think about what media was used. More often then not I just stare and wait for my thoughts to start processing again.

[@trodat07]

Needs More Subs When he’s using acrylics, water colours, oils, pencil, when he’s painting over his own drawing, when he’s doing it over somebody else’s, when he uses live models and references, when he gets it right just from memory, etc. I can’t avoid thinking about all of that at all.

[@NeedsMoreSubs]

I have found my opposite.

[@HRDK-SKLETRMUMMR-MEGTRN]

🙀😺😹🙀😺😹🙀😺😹🙀😺😹🙀😺😹🙀😺😹

[@brianwest1155]

I do but then again I majored in Art in college, so I cannot not think about it.

[@fromagepane1199]

How is this man so productive. He has done so many of these monumental characters groups illustrations. He has the productivity of an entire studio.

[@lucianganea3034]

Yes! Longer than 1 minute

[@CannibalWHORE22]

His art is amazing. I love his comics because again the artwork is phenomenal, but the story writing is genius and serious. They operate on multiple levels! Genius

[@caedengoering]

You are such a unique and amazing addition to the already amazing art of comics! Followed your work in comics for years and I'm constantly amazed at the level of your talent!

[@comicsmisexplained]

Always so impressed with your work. Can look at it all day, everyday

[@oscartravis5740]

Fantastic artwork, your compositions are second to none.

[@johnathanclark79]

And people say they hate 90s artists.

[@ranxerox3180]

Love your work!

[@dezinfectant]

just like saitama, alex ross' art has grown overpowered that he lost hair

[@TheBombShhh]

gouache is my favorite paint. i think it looks the best, and it's pretty easy to work with. i like to use it in combination with color pencils and pastel.

[@kingsleyknoxlar]

I can can relate. I'll worked with water colors in a very backwards way. I treat the medium very tight with a lot of control and not loose. Over time I realized I was doing it wrong but I was getting the results I wanted so i never stopped. I also noticed I didn't like depending on the white of the paper to always be the white that you see, sometimes I wanted brighter colors so I started using Gauche to add a cleaner look that I couldn't get from the slightly muddiness of just water colors.

[@gwSocialmedia99]

Fantastic art work and technical painting skills.

[@craigpotter4056]

Love your artwork! So I subscribed !!!

[@stevesloan5935]

You make just beautiful artwork! The compositions in this video were dynamic and compelling. I'd like to see you begin to do tutorial videos, along with work-in-progress videos.

[@Distrakt]

Astonishing work indeed

[@shelliingle571]

His artwork are extraordinary amazing!!! 😀

[@Replayer101]

Yes! Don't change! This is awesome art!

[@diegoarmandodelacruzbarrag6705]

This man make exceptional draws, is amazing!!

[@holyravioli5795]

I too can testify that Gouache is an awesome medium.

[@garzapinups]

I started using gouache sometime last year. They’re really fun! I mainly use watercolors for my main figures, so when I have backgrounds I use gouache

[@zackhurwitz4839]

He is one of the men I always look up when I want to feel completely inadequate at illustrations.

[@dannyreyna2821]

Brilliant, Awesome, Incredible, Beyond talent master artist. You have my upmost respect 🙏

[@HollyVanHart]

😻 Thanks, I'll be checking out your other videos too! 💗 💗

[@antonialaizure5748]

You're the absolute best. Hands down.

[@GatlinsFuckinCornfield]

I'd love to see you draw a cover or something from start to finish, I want to see how your "artist mind" works.

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

James gurney used gouache for plein air painting....its so versatile in its purpose..for daily practice (doesnot dry, stays wet in palette), can do real paintings for frame (saw artists exhibiting gouache at exhibits), play and learn colour mixing, practice brush calligraphy, illustration as in this video, excellent for plein air opaque painting...so on..

[@huesos_de_fuego]

You are the real hero

[@aliencreation8744]

hes just a plain amazing artist no matter what he used.

[@artisttellthetruth6649]

Master and your masterpiece!! Awesome!!

[@joeblankenship377]

This is why I wanna learn gouache. Plus, it's not watercolor and it's not acrylic, it's somewhere in between and takes the best of each one.

[@boejiden4190]

Its hard for me to appreciate other artists after seeing Alex's artwork 😆

[@kofteburger]

Fascinating.

[@EddieRaccioppi]

This dude is just awesome.

[@mayam6196]

@Alex Ross u the Best on ya Artwork ... I'm fascinating with ya work ... I'm an cartoonist as well .. the Voltron the Gatchman ( Battle of the Planet) came right out the cover n pages as well

[@grahamekellermeier8280]

O my gouache love using that medium.

[@Adammoodyfineart]

Gouache is much better than acrylic

[@viktorhammerstein]

Misread the title, thinking it said "Axl Rose Talks about Painting with Gouache". Imagine my relief when I clicked the link.

[@fratersanguinous9243]

God, I am absolutely sickened by him, in the best possible way imaginable.

[@digi_edits]

lol

[@tonythepostman]

Brilliant simply Brilliant

[@swizard0922]

Just fantastical!!!! You embody the Comic Universe in a way that is mesmerizing.. The Marvel Universe is by favorite, but anything you draw/paint I would show on my office wall. Let me know if you have anything you are going to toss in your garbage bin and I would gladly hang on my wall. Keep up the great work Alex.

[@rafaellyle1579]

What's the Painting at 3:07. It's looks awesome and I need to see it in it's entirety.

[@wells5150]

Yes. There is no right or wrong way, there just is!

[@jinroh7538]

Hi, Alex. I gotta say that I don't like too much the super hero stuff, but between all my library, that has almost no pajama kind, I have one of the most precious treasures for me: MARVELS You and Kurt Busiek nailed it 👌👌👌

[@deloctober4369]

Don’t change, man!

[@hectorrivera176]

Don't change You Are perfect.

[@scottcrosby-art5490]

Best artist around

[@gorgingfeaturing2314]

Alex you is best

[@BobbySpiessVienna]

The man.

[@Ms2cents]

The way you paint, There’s no need to change anything! If anything, you should be teaching a masterclass! 👍🏼

[@lylewyant3356]

There are water miscible oils now. Nontraditional oils you might want to try.

[@TheJereld]

Never change.

[@SerginhoPMoura]

Jesus, where can I find the painting at 3:06??? That is just superb!!

[@joerydewinter1955]

Hi Alex, do you varnish your gouache painting? If yes, wich varnish do you use? Thanks beforehand. Greets, A Big Fan

[@rodrigocryptic]

Anybody knows what he means by painting backwards? heard him talk about going from light to dark in other videos which seems contrary to other painters like Rembrandt.

[@jacobstaten2366]

I never feel in control of oil. I will try and get more into water.

[@TheCombatartist]

Before gouache was caseins. Have you ever tried them?

[@harrymattull8809]

Which brand of Gouache do you Use? Please, ...Thank you

[@shaynebade3594]

i just ordered some gouache

[@dali9033]

We're did you get that palette

[@daveg686]

👍

[@devyadav3273]

The realism in his paintings beat digital media let alone oils.

[@bradxint8928]

The best

[@luissandoval1385]

What brand of gouache does he use?

[@jeremy67A]

I wonder if Alex would like Corel Painter?

[@marcoskobe4441]

0:14 what's the name of this accessory

[@AngryBrother360]

Why change?.... Your art cemented photorealism as the elite form of sequential illustration!.💯

[@A0A4ful]

There are those who live in the Superheroes' stories- comics or movies. And there are those who live in the artworks. To have lived in the time of Alex Ross...

[@subliteral]

None of my teachers recommended gouache for much more than color studies & preliminary work. By then , as Alex says , it must have fallen out of broad usage among illustrators. I only really learned to paint with it by looking at original art by vintage illustrators.

[@dion5884]

the G.O.A.T

[@JimmyCee123]

Modern Day Master.

[@johncollado1151]

Hi Alex... I've watched a couple of your videos, do you do any digital work or are you strictly traditional?

[@NeedsMoreSubs]

Look through his back videos for a video called "The Art Life: Painting vs. Digital"

[@johncollado1151]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[@johncollado1151]

Okay, so he's strictly traditional, thanks.

[@trahapace150]

@@johncollado1151 he mentioned in an interview dabbling with it a little but he doesnt like it. I dont think his work would translate well into digital

[@johncollado1151]

@@trahapace150 I'm a traditional painter myself who has gone to digital, not sure if it works that well in the other direction. Though I can apply a lot of what I've learned traditionally to digital, it's a different ball game going digital to traditional I would think. The nice thing with traditional is that you have an original piece of artwork after it's all done.

[@marcosoliveira8731]

Please: don't change!

[@rociotapia3020]

I ask you to please put the subtitles in different languages. I appreciate your work, greetings from Mexico.

[@Los-kq1ik]

500 series 4-ply. Hot or cold press?

[@shaynebade3594]

Los 5150 with gouache, hot pressed is best since it isn’t as textured but there is a desirable style using cold pressed

[@Los-kq1ik]

@@shaynebade3594 Thank you!

[@mlongpre100]

the art school ross went to must be elated to have him as a graduate

[@gracefuldice1956]

Art schools deserve no credit. Alex Ross and all other artists learned themselves everything they know. Everything we do in art schools, we can do at home on our own.

[@Phntm27]

airbrush does not look as precise, thats why I dig Ross' work.

[@goilo888]

Phntm27 - All depends on who's doing the airbrushing. There are many examples of "realist" paintings by airbrush artists that don't scream "airbrush" in the way that you are probably thinking.

[@vincentpreston2694]

Yeah I wonder what H.R. Giger would of had to say about that!🤔

[@blackeesh463]

Airbrush can absolutely look this precise

[@kaheldan]

Gouache?

[@gabrielmccanless5512]

Oneal Jordan Gonzales I was just about to say something about that lol.

[@goilo888]

Oneal Jordan Gonzales, now type that into Google and see where it takes you.

[@Acidtrip138]

The fact you r not recognized as one of the bests artists of the 20th and early 21st century is mind blowing the the emotion you portray in your art and how it makes me feel as a viewer is indescribable

[@moderusprime]

Can we get Alex Ross following Bob Ross tutorials? Call it "Ross on Ross"?

[@WarriorSmurf]

Well, there is acrylic gouache...

[@straya520]

I love the image at 1:30 but the reflection of wolverine on caps shield is incorrect. But I love it nonetheless

[@jetfromgladiators7382]

Shit me. He painted a skeletor.

[@g_man2177]

You're better off in gouache. I find acrylic to be too rubbery especially when it thickens.

[@2lmdi]

Gouache is just watercolor with white mixed in? Noooooo. That's called "filling" and quality gouache has no fillers. What makes it gouache is the higher pigment load and less fine grind than watercolor. Density creates opacity. Yes, cheap, poor quality gouache opacity is created by adding white pigment or even chalk fillers (why some call it "chalky".. that's poor quality gouache only.) Okay for sketching I guess but its beneath even good student quality gouache which still doesn't add fillers but has less pigment load and therefore is less opaque. Edit: I know this is old but people beginning in gouache will still be viewing and didn't want to leave that misleading statement stand.

[@peterhz6]

''my lungs are better for it not have to smell in turpentine all the time'', what? is it dangerous to paint with gouache?

[@Jang09]

He was referencing oil painting which uses turpentine to thin the paint.

[@devinmichaelroberts9954]

A little surprising that a guy who has used gouache for decades doesn't actually know what it is.. a gouache isn't just watercolor with white or fillers. He's describing cheap off brand gouache, or arts and crafts gouache. Real gouache, as used in the old days by JMW TUrner and still produced now by Holbein etc. is simply the same as watercolor although far far more pigment per gum arabic medium, and an emphasis on naturally opaque mediums like cadmium's.